Airway for artificial respiration



Oct. 31, 1961 E. AGUADO 3,006,337

AIRWAY FOR ARTIFICIAL RESPIRATION Filed Aug. 28, 1959 a FIG. IQ

INVENTOR, EDWARD A6U/ADO.

A TTORNEYS.

United States Patent 3,006,337 AIRWAY FOR ARTEFICIAL RESPIRATION EdwardAguado, P 0. Box 4525, Plaza Station, St. Louis, Mo. Filed Aug. 28,1959, Ser. No. 836,812 1 Claim. (Cl. 12S-29) This invention relatesgenerally to improvements in an airway for artificial respiration, andmore particularly to an improved device of this type used in oralresuscitation.

After centuries of progress in inhalation therapy, mouth-to-mouthresuscitation has been found superior to modern scientific methods.However, modern knowledge of the importance of keeping the passagewayfrom mouth to lungs open while applying any form of artificialrespiration is something which has apparently escaped practicallyeverybody from biblical times to the present. It is now known that inthe unconscious person, especially one lying on his back, the tonguefalls back and blocks the trachea, often completely. If artificialrespiration of any sort is undertaken without first correcting thiscondition, the effort will fail.

It is an important and major objective of the present invention toprovide an oral airway that is capable of easy insertion into thevictims mouth and which acts to depress the tongue forwardly so as tomaintain the trachea open.

Another important object is achieved by the provision of an elongate,curved, hollow tongue depresser having one end in communication with amain tube through which the rescuer breathes, and having the other endopen and adapted to communicate directly with the trachea when insertedinto the victims mouth. The tongue depresser is of sutiicient length toprovide a more patent air passage.

It is an important object in one embodiment of the invention to form themouthpiece and the tongue depresser as an integral terminal fitting onone end of the airway main tube so that various sizes of such fittingscan be selectively connected to adapt the unit for adults, children orinfants.

Still another important object is realized by the particular structuralarrangement and construction of the mouthpiece so as to provide a betterand more comfortable seal from escaping air and to assure a morepositive ow of air from the rescuers lungs to the victims lungs.

Other important advantages are realized by the provision of bitingsurfaces on the mouthpiece which preclude closing the victims mouth andof the air passageway provided by the hollow tongue depresser.

Yet, another important object is achieved by the inclusion of asecondary tubing communicating with the main tube of the airway for theselective introduction of oxygen to supplement the oxygen of therescuers lungs, and by the provision of a slidable collar on the maintube adapted to seal an aperture through which the secondary tubingextends when such tubing is removed.

Another important object is to provide an airway device that is simpleand durable in construction, efiicient in operation, economical tomanufacture, and which can be utilized by anyone with only a minimum ofinstruction.

The foregoing md numerous other objects and advantages of the inventionwill more clearly appear from the following detailed description of apreferred embodiment and modifications thereof, particularly whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. l is a top plan view of the airway;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view as seen along line 2 2 of FIG. l, thebroken lines indicating the flexible nature of the main tube;

FIG. 3 is an end elevational view as seen from the right of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of one end of the airwayillustrating a modified construction.

For completeness of disclosure, a brief description of themouth-to-mouth resuscitation method will be given in order to more fullyunderstand the operation and functional advantages of the presentairway.

The first step in this technique for administering artificialrespiration is to clear the mouth of any foreign matter with the ngersand press the victims tongue forward. In the case of a child, the childis placed in a face-down, head-down position and patted firmly on theback to dislodge any foreign object in the air passage. Next, thepatient is placed on his back and the middle fingers of both hands areused to lift the lower jaw from beneath and behind so that it juts out.The jaw is then held in this forward position with one hand. ln somecases, it is possible merely to tip the patients head back and pull thejaw forward with one hand until there is partial dislocation of thejoint. The other hand is utilized to pinch the nose closed.

Then, the rescuers mouth is firmly placed over the victims mouth. Aftertaking a deep breath, the rescuer blows into the victims lungs. Thisblowing action is accomplished forcefully for adults and gently forchildren. When the victims chest beings to rise, the rescuer removes hismouth to allow the patient to exhale. This exchange of oxygen fromrescuer to victim is repeated approximately twenty times per minute.

Because of the objection at times to the intimate mouthto-mouth Contactand in order to provide more effective exchange of air from the rescuerto the victim the airway of the present invention was developed. Y

The airway includes a main tube 1i)` preferably constructed of a soft,flexible non-toxic plastic material. The main tube 10 is open at bothends. As is indicated by broken lines in FIG. 2, the main tube 10 can beeasily bent to accommodate the different relative positions betweenrescuer and victim.

A mouthpiece generally indicated at 11 is detachably connected to oneend of the main tube l. rihis particular mouthpiece 11 is adapted foruse by the rescuer during the resuscitation procedure. The mouthpiece 11includes a hub 12 resiliently mounted about the end of main tube 10 andincludes an ovoid, arcuate flange 13 adapted to fit between the gums andlips of the rescuer to provide an effective air seal. Of course, the endof main tube 10 opens through the center of the mouthpiece 11 forcommunication with the interior of the rescuers lmouth for the freepassage of air. A pair of biting surfaces 14 extend inwardly from theovoid flange 13 and are located on opposite sides of the main tube end.These biting surfaces 14 extend between the upper and lower sets ofteeth when the mouthpiece 11 is worn orally to prevent accidentalclosing of the airway.

Referring first to the embodiment of the airway illustrated in FIG. 4 ofthe drawing, it is seen that a terminal tting indicated generally at 15is placed as a unit on the opposite end of main tube 10. The fitting 15includes a mouthpiece 16 having a hub 17 mounted over and resilientlygripping the end of main tube 10, and includes an ovoid, arcuate flange20 adapted to fit between the gums and lips of the victim to provide aneffective air seal.

Formed integrally with the mouthpiece 16 is a curved, elongate tonguedepresser 21. Such tongue depresser is hollow and generally tubular toprovide an air passageway 22 therethrough. One end of tongue depresser21 operatively communicates with the open end of the main tube 1t). Theopposite end of the tongue depresser 21 is open to provide directcommunication with the trachea for the transmission of air.

A pair of biting surfaces 23 are formed on the ovoid flange and projectinwardly along opposite sides of the tongue depresser 21. In otherwords, the tongue depresser 21 extends between the biting surfaces 23.In use, the biting surfaces 23 extend between the upper and lower teethof the victim, thus preventing the teeth from clinching or otherwiseclosing. Severance of the tongue depresser 21 is prevented and an openairway is maintained that directly communicated the lungs of the rescuerwith the lungs of the victim.

Because the fitting 15 is formed as an integral unit, such fittings ofvarious sizes can be selectively attached to the end of the main tube 10in order to accommodate adults, children or infants.

A modification of the airway is illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 inclusive. Inthis modification, the mouthpiece 24 is formed separate from the tonguedepresser 25. The mouthpiece 24.includes a hub 26 slidably mounted andresiliently engaging the end of main tube 10, and includes an ovoid,arcuate flange 27.A One end of the tongue depresser is formed integrallywith the end of the main tube 10 so as to place the air passageway 30 ofthe tongue depresser 25 in direct communication with the interior oftube 10.

A pair of biting surfaces 31 are formed integrally with the ovoid flange27 of mouthpiece 24, such biting surface 31 extending inwardly fromovoid flange 27 on opposite sides of the tongue depresser 25.

The mouthpiece 24 can be selectively adjusted in position longitudinallyalong the main tube 10 in order to vary the length of the tonguedepresser 25 extending beyond the mouthpiece 24. Adjustment of themouthpiece 24 in this manner assures that a tongue depresser 25 ofappropriate length will be inserted into the victims mouth so that thetongue depresser 25 not only dcpresses and moves the tongue forward, butin addition communicates directly with the trachea.

Provided in the side of main tube 10 is an aperture 32. A secondarytubing 33 is selectively inserted into the aperture 32 for directcommunication with the interior of main tube 10. The secondary tubing 33is adapted to be connected to a source of oxygen and is used tointroduce a iow of pure oxygen into the airway to supplement the oxygenof the rescuers lungs. Tubing 33 may also be optionally employed towithdraw phelgm or any blocking liquid in the trachea. When so usedtubing 33 is projected through tongue depressor tube 25 a suitabledistance into the throat of the patient, and the opposite end isconnected to a vacuum source.

There are times when it is not necessary or desirable to utilize thesecondary tubing 33. In this event, the secondary tubing 33 is removedfrom the aperture 32. A exible resilient collar 34, preferablyconstructed of rubber or plastic material, is mounted on main tube 10.When the secondary tubing 33 is removed, the collar 34 is movedlongitudinally along the main tube 10 to a position in which the collar34 completely covers and seals the aperture 32.

It is thought that the operation and functional results of the airwayhave become fully apparent from the foregoing detailed description ofthe parts, but for completeness of disclosure and utilization of thisparticular airway will be brieiiy described.

The iirst step is to select an airway of appropriate dimensionsdepending upon the size of the victim. In utilizing a terminal fittingof the embodiment disclosed in FIG. 4 in which the tongue depresser 21is formed integral with the mouthpiece 16, such fitting of proper sizeis selected and attached to the end of main tube 10V.

On the other hand if the airway is of the embodiment disclosed in FIGS.l-S inclusive in which the tongue depresser 25 is formed integrally withthe main tube 10 and the mouthpiece 24 is formed separately from thetongue depresser, the rescuer chooses a main tube 10 having a tonguedepresser of proper size and attaches an appropriate cooperatingmouthpiece. Then, the rescuer adjusts the position of the mouthpiece 24on the main tube 10 to make the extension of the tongue depresser 25 ofa predetermined length to assure communication with the trachea.

Then, the rescuer places the tongue depresser into the mouth of thevictim so that the depresser pulls the tongue forward and opens thetrachea for a clear passageway to the victims lungs. The mouthpiece isfitted into the victims mouth with the ovoid ange between the gums andlips to provide an effective seal. The rescuer places the mouthpiece 11at the opposite end of the airway into his mouth with the ovoid flange13 between the gums and lips to provide an air seal.

If desired, the resilient collar 34 may be moved longitudinally alongmain tube 10 to open the aperture 32 to permit the insertion ofsecondary tubing 33 for the introduction of an additional supply ofoxygen. If additional oxygen is not needed or desirable, the rescuermakes sure that the resilient collar 34 is in a position to completelycover and seal the aperture 32 when the secondary tubing 33 is removed.

The rescuer then performs the cycle of breathing operations previouslydescribed to exchange oxygen directly from the lungs of the rescuer intothe lungs of the victim.

Although the invention has been described by making detailed referenceto a single preferred embodiment and modification thereof, such detailis to be understood in an instructive, rather than in any restrictivesense, many variants being possible within the scope of the claimhereunto appended.

I claim as my invention:

In an airway for artificial respiration, a main tube, a

mouthpiece connected to one end of said tube, a curved,V

hollow tongue depresser having one end communicating with the interiorof said main tube and having the opposite end open, said tonguedepresser extending outwardly from the center of said mouthpiece, themouthpiece having an ovoid flange adapted to it between the gums andlips of the victim, and having biting surfaces disposed on oppositesides of said tongue depresser, said main tube being provided with anaperture, a secondary tubing selectively located in said aperture andcommunicating with said main tube so as to introduce a supply of oxygen,and a resilient collar slidably mounted on said main tube yet tightlygripping the periphery of said tube, the resilient collar selectivelycovering said aperture upon removal of said secondary tubing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,280,050 Alexander et al Apr. 2l, 1942 2,669,988 Carpenter Feb. 23,1954 2,882,893 Godfroy Apr. 2l, 1959 2,912,982 Barsky Nov. 17, 1959FOREIGN PATENTS 574,736 Canada Apr. 28, 1959

